Off topic – ‘resurrected singer’

A man claiming to be resurrected multi-award winning maskandi (traditional Zulu folk music) artist Khulekani Kwakhe “Mgqumeni” Mseleku, has been taken in for questioning, KwaZulu-Natal police said on Monday.

“Police opened an inquest docket and we took the man in for questioning yesterday (on Sunday),” police spokesman Colonel Jay Naicker said.

“We have not done DNA tests or taken his fingerprints, but will be taking some samples to verify whether it is him or not. Detectives from the province will head the investigation.”

Khumalo apparently died in December 2009, after drinking something he got from a traditional healer. He was buried by his family in the KwaGxobanyawo cemetery in early 2010.

“I have been suffering a lot at the place where I was kept with zombies. It was hell there and I am so grateful that I was able to free myself and return to my family and you, my supporters,” The Times quoted him as saying.

Investigations would determine whether the police needed to file a High Court application to exhume the body thought to be Mseleku’s.

After the news broke on Thursday of Khumalo’s arrival at his family’s homestead in Nquthu near Dundee, hysterical fans went to the village, according to weekend reports.

Naicker said investigations would continue on Monday. – Sapa

Kwakhe ‘Mgqumeni’ Khumalo, left, before his death and (right) the man who has mysteriously returned and claims to be him. Picture: Mgqumeni Facebook fan site

The South African music scene has been rocked by the claim that a Zulu singer has returned from the dead. Police are investigating a man who says he is Khulekani Mgqumeni “Kwakhe” Khumalo, one of the best known figures in traditional maskandi music, who died in December 2009.

“It really is him,” Khumalo’s grandmother, Zintombi Mseleku, told South Africa’s Sunday Tribune . Mseleku is one of several relatives – including the singer’s daughter and two common-law wives – who insist the man who appeared on 29 January is the person they laid to rest two years ago, at a funeral attended by many local politicians and journalists . “There is no way I can get confused over Kwakhe,” Mseleku said. “He is looking a little worn, and his cheeks are less chubby, but it’s him.”

Officials are less convinced. The purported Khumalo was arrested on Monday and questioned by police. They have taken fingerprints and DNA samples; test results are due later this week. If the man’s DNA matches the material on file, officials are expected to exhume the musician’s body. Otherwise, he may be charged with fraud.

Before his arrest, the man claiming to be Khumalo addressed thousands of fans who flooded to his home in Nquthu, KwaZulu-Natal. “I have always been alive,” he told the crowd, saying he had been held captive by zombies for the past two years. “The people who captured me shaved my dreadlocks because they wanted to put a nail in my head.” They were apparently preparing a ritual to transform him into a tokoloshe, or water spirit . While the “resurrected” musician refused to play any music, he asked his fans to be patient. “I promise to continue singing once I gather enough strength,” he said.

Before his death in late 2009, 27-year-old Khumalo, also known as Khulekani Mseleku, was one of the leading voices in traditional Zulu song. He released five solo albums, including 2008’s Magic, which sold more than 78,000 copies. “He died too soon,” said Weziwe Thusi,provincial culture minister . “He had shown great talent and contributed immensely towards developing and promoting maskandi music.”